By far the best Leeds United headlines at the 2022 World Cup are being generated by Tyler Adams. USA’s captain has gone from strength to strength as his nation’s gone through their three group games, culminating in qualification to the second round.
The US side’s social networks published a video from the dressing room after their win over Iran. Head coach Gregg Berhalter stands before the squad, looking to inspire them with words about what’s been done and what’s to come.
The 49-year-old ends with the match ball in his hand, a token of his team’s player of the tournament thus far. Is there any surprise when you see him bouncing it, at the second time of asking, behind his back to the captain?
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If there were any doubts in the Elland Road fanbase about the long-term leadership credentials of this tough-tackling 23-year-old, they have been laid to rest in this tournament. Adams has spoken eloquently off the field and monstered midfield battles on it in another step forward from the quality United have already seen in the Premier League this season.
The most gut-wrenching aspect of Adams’s glittering sojourn is the reminder he won’t be available to Leeds in their next match. The American’s red card at Tottenham Hotspur means he will be suspended for arguably the hardest home match of the season.
Champions Manchester City restart the season at Leeds on December 28 and Jesse Marsch has a dilemma on his hands. Who steps into the Adams void when the likes of Kevin De Bruyne and Bernardo Silva are breaking from deep through the centre of Elland Road?
Sam Greenwood played alongside Marc Roca in the double pivot when Adams was injured for Fulham’s visit last month. However, that experiment did not play out too well that day.
Greenwood, superb in the middle at Brentford on the final day of last season, could not find the same influence against the Cottagers. Roca and the 20-year-old were cut to shreds on that day, so what does Marsch do when Pep Guardiola’s world-class talents rock up?
Greenwood will not be written off. The converted striker shone in the madness of that Bournemouth fightback, but more for his technical prowess than any sustained grip on a wild game from the centre.
Adam Forshaw was the answer when we asked this question in the summer. At that point, there were still questions about what the Roca-Adams axis would look like and whether Forshaw still had a chance to start matches.
Injury has denied the 31-year-old that opportunity to muscle in on Marsch’s first-choice pair, but based on the news before Spurs, Forshaw should be in the reckoning once more. If the date in the capital had been three days later, Marsch said the number four would have been in contention for the squad.
Assuming there have been no new setbacks, Forshaw now has this second pre-season period to assert himself. The public friendlies Leeds have, currently against Elche and Real Sociedad, must be seized by Forshaw.
Last season we saw, even after two years on the sidelines, how well Forshaw can play in midfield. His experience stands him in good stead with Marsch, but the American will need to see progress from Forshaw in the matches before December 28.
Darko Gyabi may be the more natural fit next in line, but would a Premier League debut against the champions, his former club, be a little too much for the 18-year-old? He was promising, if a little naive in places, against Wolverhampton Wanderers this month, but he did not leave anyone clamouring for his immediate inclusion in the first team.
Mateusz Klich may be a more awkward fit than Gyabi to partner Roca, but his experience perhaps makes him Forshaw’s biggest competition for a start. The Pole has licked his World Cup wounds and will be itching to get back in at the first chance.
Klich has faired better in more advanced roles, but has the wherewithal to put the brakes on if asked to play alongside Roca, who is also not the naturally defensive presence Adams has proved to be. Marsch is sure to experiment in the games ahead before Christmas.
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